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The Importance of Being Neutered

Whether you’ve recently adopted a dog or you’re considering it, one of the most important health decisions you’ll make is whether to spay or neuter your new pet.

When it comes to “fixing” male dogs, specifically, there’s a lot of misinformation swirling around. (“It’ll make my dog fat” and “it’ll change his personality” are two common myths that we’d like to bust forever!) Some pet parents even express guilt over neutering their dogs. But trust us, he doesn’t mind, and here’s why:

Your neutered male will be more at peace.Neutering won’t affect your dog’s working abilities, friendliness or playfulness! However, it will likely reduce undesirable, sometimes dangerous behaviors including urine marking, attempts to roam away from home, aggression toward other dogs and inappropriate mounting. These things stress everybody out—including him.

He won’t become a deadbeat dad.Every year, millions of dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. You wouldn’t want your beloved pooch to be responsible for creating yet another unplanned litter, would you?

Many states and counties have established safe, low-cost spay/neuter programs that make surgery easily affordable and accessible. To find an affordable program near you, search our Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Provider Database. If you're in New York City, the ASPCA mobile spay/neuter clinic offers partially or fully subsidized spay/neuter surgery for low-income dog and cat owners in the five boroughs.